The Americaribe and John Moriarty & Associates joint venture is seeking $2.5 million from Fort Lauderdale-based Zarrella Construction for negligence in its drywall and metal work on the Brickell City Centre, according to a local real estate news website.

Brickell City Centre is billed as a “new style of urban living in Miami.” The project consists of two residential towers, two office buildings, hotel and retail space, according to developers.

A copy of the lawsuit was not immediately available for review Tuesday (May 31).

Negligence Claim

The Real Deal reports that Americaribe-Moriarty filed suit in Miami-Dade Circuit Court after it found “faulty drywall and metal framework installations.”

When the issues were discovered, the suit alleges that Zarrella, which was paid nearly $7.5 million for its work, refused to rectify the issue.

The joint venture said it enlisted the help of consultants, engineers and others to “mitigate damages” and fell behind on the construction schedule as a result, the report said.

Americaribe-Moriarty also claims that the subcontractor filed a “fraudulent and exaggerated lien” on the project, the report noted.

About the Project

Brickell City Centre is billed as a “new style of urban living in Miami.” The project consists of two residential towers, two office buildings, hotel and retail space, according to the developer's website.

Officials recently announced the 500,000 square-foot retail portion of the project would be opening in November. The hotel, one of the office towers and one residential tower have already opened.

The project was designed by Arquitectonica. Its owner is Swire Properties. Turner Construction with Dragados USA were hired to complete foundation and parking phases of the project. They are not parties to the lawsuit.

How can a sub do $1.5M of defective work without it being caught in process? No specs. No onsite quality control of subs. What do they expect? Perhaps these developers are actually fronts for law firms.